LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Scott LeBrun In this, one of the most popular of blaxploitation films, the charismatic Max Julien shines as Goldie, a man fresh from a stretch in prison who quickly rises to the role of top pimp in the city of Oakland. Adding complication to his life are the activities of a pair of crooked racist white detectives (Don Gordon, William Watson) and the requests of top mobster The Fatman (George Murdock) for Goldie to return to the small time. What the film truly benefits from is a sterling group of actors. Julien is engaging as the cool, calm & collected super pimp. The under-rated Gordon scores as a very bad bad guy, Roger E. Mosley is effectively intense as Goldie's activist brother, lovely Carol Speed is endearing as Lulu the prostitute, as is Juanita Moore as Goldie's loving mother, and Dick Anthony Williams has a field day as flamboyant Pretty Tony. Richard Pryor's performance, decidedly more dramatic than comedic, is solid, and he proves to be a good sidekick. The film itself is fairly overlong, but as scripted by Robert J. Poole and directed by Michael Campus, it tells a decent story in an interesting enough way, and it doesn't shy away from brutality. It gives laymen an insider's perspective by consulting with a number of real-life pimps, and shows how their lifestyle affects everything that they do. They even have barbecues, softball games, and an annual Pimp of the Year contest. By the end it's managed to portray Goldie in a complex fashion, showing that he hasn't acted THAT differently from the ruthless Hank (Gordon). Yet, of course, we can't help but side with Goldie during the finale as his nemesis has clearly gone too far. It's here that Goldie has to make an important decision. An indelible influence on pop culture, particularly Quentin Tarantino, "The Mack" immerses us in this appropriately seedy world. It's good fun, with a very hip score by Willie Hutch, and captures its time and place extremely well & remains convincing throughout. It doesn't waste time getting to the action, and features some memorable lines and exchanges. It may not be for everybody - some people may indeed feel that it's glorifying those in the prostitution business too much - but it does a compelling job at portraying a very real and very old profession, and very real part of life. Seven out of 10.

MartinHafer THE MACK is a film about a true anti-hero, as a "mack" is a pimp. When Goldie gets out of prison, he's determined to be the #1 pimp--no matter what gets in his way. His brother, however, is full of Black pride and urges Goldie to do something positive with his life. Unfortunately, Goldie is more than willing to make it big off his own people--and, while the film presents both messages, the overwhelming message through the first 90% of the movie seems to be that Goldie's way is the right way! Over the course of the film, it was very interesting to see the evolution of Goldie. At first, he seemed like a nice guy--sort of a "pimp with a heart of gold"--a social worker pimp, of sorts! However, over time, he becomes harder and badder and colder--so that you really can't like him or justify his life.At the same time, two crooked and racist White cops are shown throughout the film. Their job, it seems, is to make life tough for Goldie and prove to the audience that White cops are devils--and they do a good job of this! They are the stereotypical blaxploitation cops--even going so far as killing the only good cop (a Black one, naturally) in the film.Eventually, Goldie becomes so big, so violent and creates so many enemies you aren't sure which one will eventually kill him--the Fat Man, the two psycho cops or one of the other pimps. This leads to some amazing action--though you are left rather cold because every single one of them are dirt and it's hard to care at all about them. Heck, I just wanted to see them all die! The bottom line is that for the genre, this is a pretty good film but has rather horrible values. Unlike more positive films like HAMMER, COFFY and FOXY BROWN, this one tends to glorify, to a degree, a societal leech. If you like this style film and want to root for a low-life, also try SUPER FLY.FYI--Years ago, when I watched I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA, I laughed at Fly Guy and the section on the "Pimp of the Year" competition--not realizing that character was taken straight from THE MACK.

Edsel Hegmon I never seen the Mack when it first came out, but when I was 13 , and I seen it at the Southern Theater in Columbus. I was shocked how the movie evolved. First he's released from prison after 5 years, and then his old flame(Carol Speed who was good) became one of his girls, and the two crooked cops that put him in the prison in first place harassing him, and killed his mother, and then kills a rival pimp with dynamite in the mouth, and then he shoots battery acid into the "Fat Man" after all this he winds up on top in the end despite all of the tragedy he went through. I don't know why Max Julien didn't do more movies than he did, but he's still a great actor. Richard Pryor does a great job as Goldie's sidekick Slick. I can see this movie many times over, because it was that good. If you get a chance buy this movie, it's available anywhere.

ahertz-2 If you want to get an insider's glimpse into the world of pimpin', look no further than "The Mack." Often compared to the other, better known black movies of the 1970's, which tend to focus more on drugs and street justice, "The Mack" incorporates both of those elements, but with a heavy focus on pimpin'. It gives outsiders a glimpse into the life of a pimp through the eyes of 1973's official Pimp of the Year, Goldie ("The Mack" shows that this dubious title is actually given out in an annual event, one similar to the Oscars). Goldie's strengths are his strong pimp hand, which he uses early and often, and the fact that he always gets his percentage on time (as in "woman better have my percentage"). Although his brother (fyi: one of magnum p.i.'s sidekicks)dedicates his life warning people about pimps and drug pushers, Goldie continues his lavish lifestyle, going so far as to bring his women to the annual Pimp Softball and Barbeque Outing (for a pimp, Goldie sure knows how to swing the lumber). But, with a tragic ending, Goldie must examine his life and is forced to make a huge decision.If you are looking for great acting, a movie where you can hear what the people are saying (everyone speaks really softly), or good music, look elsewhere. Also, although Richard Pryor gets second billing in this movie, he is seen in the movie less than a pimp in daylight.On the other hand, I think the strengths of this movie are the costumes and the "pimp insight" one can gain. If you want a crash course on what it takes to be a respected pimp (fine clothes, ability to wear sunglasses during all hours, have an unruly afro, kill people using dynamite, play a lot of craps and three card monty), then look no further than "The Mack". However, if that is not your intended goal, look further, look much much further.